>> and now, "bbc world news." >> ♪ >> do not forget your christian roots. the pope warns against the dangers of secularism on his visit. the human cost of the u.s. financial downturn -- possibly -- poverty levels rise to their highest level in nearly 50 years. eu summit rows. the french president vows to press on. >> frenchmen and women have to know that this policy will continue while strictly abiding by the letter and spirit of our republican laws. >> welcome to "bbc world news" -- broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america and also or around the globe.

coming up later, women in a man's world. the dangers of being a female candidate in afghanistan's elections. and when millions of its people face hunger, why does niger continue to export food. -- why does niger continue to export food? hello. it is the first state visit by a pope since the 16th century when henry viii broke from rome and formed the anglican church. some 450 years later, this visit is not without controversy. the pope has been forced to of knowledge failings' over pedophile priests, and he issued a warning about the dangers of what he called aggressive secularism in britain. in a moment, a report on the significance of the day for scotland's roman catholics here

first, a look at the occasion of protocol with religious fervor. >> it was as the pope's aircraft brought him to rome that he spoke about the sex abuse scandal, talking to reporters aboard the plane. he said the catholic church has not dealt with the problem decisively enough. these revelations were from the shock and great sadness -- were met with shock and great sadness. this is a time of benisons. the first priority is taking care of victims. that is probably all the pope will say about the matter. scandals are not part of the script of papal visits. he is not a showman like his predecessor, so there was no kneeling to kiss the ground. at the palace, the queen was waiting to greet him. two holders of engine offices of the same generation and with a shared christian faith, separated by 500 years of division between anglican and catholic churches. the queen top of the importance

of people being free to worship. >> your holiness, in recent times, you have said that religions can never become vehicles of hatred, but never by invoking the name of god can evil and violence be justified. >> in reply, the pope talked about the easiest extremism of the 20th century and what about aggressive secularism now. >> the truth is, the united kingdom strives to be a modern and multi-cultural society. this challenging enterprise may always maintained its respect for those traditional values and cultural expressions, since more aggressive forms of secularism is no longer valued and no longer tolerated. >> claim places, the crowd stood 10 to 12 feet, watching as the pope went by, a special papal task draped over his shoulders. it is hard to judge the public side of its welcome. it is sincere, certainly, from

those who were here. numbers were hesitant to begin with, but the crowds have appeared, and they now line the half-mile length of princes street. finally, the pope met members of the public on a brief walk about. scandals were forgotten as pope benedict xvi brought his message of the importance of god in the modern world. >> ♪ >> this is the moment that rewarded their patient, good humored, day-long wait. the leader of 1 billion catholics worldwide here in the heartland, the fortress of the scottish catholic identity. many in the church here had anxieties about this moment, that it would feel somehow low- key, anticlimactic. it did not seem so among this crowd. the pope, who is said to lack of popular touch, found a moment of human intimacy in the mayhem and the din.

the church has been under attack, but they have kept the faith. this is a papacy that once the real evangelization of the west, a turning back of the secular rising tide, a place to see that has opposed gay marriage, abortion rights, stem cell research. with scotland's secular leaders in his audience, pope benedict called for religious belief to take its place in public discourse and four christian values to shape public policy. >> we should not exceed -- we should not seek to exclude secular beliefs, but to penalize it, yet, this is a guarantee of our pending liberalism, leaving us to look upon a very person like a brother or sister. >> only the evangelization of culture, he said, could combat

what he called the dictatorship of relativism, which was threatening to obscure the unchanging truth about man's nature, destiny, and the goodness, and as the shadows lengthen, among the crowd, the baby benedictus, her mother, one of thousands of polish migrants, who have so boosted catholic populations here. >> we think christ was very happy because this was my daughter. i bore her, and she is mine. >> before today, there was nervousness in the church about whether this day would succeed, pessimism even. not now. >> the number of people living in poverty in america has escalated sharply. these latest census bureau reports show that one in seven americans or 43 million people, are living in poverty. another awkward headline for the

obama administration, already under heavy fire from critics over its handling of the economy. the report from new york with the poverty rate is above the national average. >> this woman has been out of work since she lost her job at a nursing home. with no paycheck coming in, she relies on food stamps to feed her children. in a land of plenty that is the u.s., she, like more and more americans, is learning to do without. >> have you ever found yourself in a situation where you have needed things that you just cannot afford? >> yes, every day, basically. because i call my mom. she lives in texas. i call my friends, and they help me out. if it was not for my friends, i would not have a lot of stuff. >> from houses left uncared-for, to empty storefronts, the symptoms of poverty are everywhere here in

poughkeepsie, and with the recession, times have only got harder. >> this is linda from love in the name of christ. we were just checking in to see how you are doing. >> the non-profit groups in the business of helping the poor. they bring together churches to meet the basic needs of those in their community, and the demand for their services has never been greater. how long have you worked with the port? >> three years. >> how does this particular moment in time compared to what you have seen over the last 30 years? >> this is the worst i have seen. the resources do not come close to matching the need, and we have to be more creative. we have to be more committed, as especially the church. >> behind the trappings of wealth and success, this hudson river community and beyond, a growing number of americans are being left behind.

>> american secretary of state hillary clinton has dropped a strong hint that it would be extremely helpful for israel to extend its partial freeze on west bank settlement building. it is her third day in the region. earlier, as expressed confidence that the talks between israeli and palestinian leaders would ultimately be successful. france is on a heightened terrorist alert. the interior minister pointed to the kidnapping of five french nationals in africa and a bomb alert on tuesday that led to the evacuation of the eiffel tower itself. tropical storm carl has been upgraded to a hurricane after it gained strength over the gulf of mexico. the u.s. national hurricane center said it had reached a

wind speed of 120 kilometers an hour. it is expected to make landfall in mexico for a second time on friday. an explosion has killed at least nine people traveling in a minibus in southeastern turkey. disaster relief has been called on the lam. separatist militants carried out a number of attacks in their violent campaign for autonomy in the region. the verbal gloves came off at an eu summit in brussels today. the gloves belonged to the french president as well as the president of the european commission has the scrap over the french deportation of roma migrants. mr. sarkozy accused the commission of wounding france through unacceptable insults and drawing parallels between its deportation of room to the sort of deportation experienced during the second world war. >> for weeks now, french police have been dismantling illegal

camps of roma and expelling some of them from france. the european union has threatened to take legal action, saying france is targeting particular ethnic groups. it has already led to a major row between paris and the european commission. today, it overshadowed the summit in brussels. over lunch, the french president was involved in a blazing argument with the most senior european official. he shouted that he was defending the honor of france. his anger was directed at a comment by the european commissioner that the expulsions reminded her of actions taken during world war ii. >> everyone here was deeply shocked, especially given our wartime history, that these words were deeply wounding and insulting to my fellow countrymen. >> president sarkozy said illegal camps will continue to be dismantled but insisted the measures were not aimed at one ethnic group. he went on to say that france

would not accept degrading shantytowns. the french say that other countries like italy, sweden, and denmark have removed role without a similar outcry. from europe's top official today, an expression of regret at language used but no backing down. >> we have had a certain kind of rhetoric, but now, it is time to leave that behind and concentrate on the real problem. >> what now? the row is not over, and the eu will consider taking legal action against france, and president sarkozy will continue with the expulsion. it was agreed today that the plight of the estimated 10 million roma will be discussed at a future summit, and all sides agree that the problem has to be dealt with on a european- wide basis. >> you are watching "bbc world news." and still to come -- pakistan's

indus river may be flowing normally again, but not international aid. it is an area of the world that is thought to have huge deposits of oil and gas. both russia and canada say is theirs. a large part that has been under discussion. >> global climate change is transforming the arctic. the polar ice caps shrinking as temperatures rise. already, energy companies are moving in, sensing a massive opportunity as the area opens up for commercial exploitation. it is thought the arctic region may contain vast reserves of oil and gas. that is leading to the growing competition between the countries which surround it. today, the foreign ministers of russia and canada discussed

their competing claims to take control of a large part of the arctic, including the north pole. their claims will eventually be judged by international experts. >> both russia and canada respect the united nations as well as the united nations convention on the law of the seas, and we will submit our data, and we are confident that our case will prevail, backed by scientific evidence. >> but the russians are already concerned that nato military forces could be sent to the arctic to protect western interests. >> we do not see, frankly speaking, any benefits that nato might bring to the arctic. the arctic countries have confirmed that all the problems that exist or might emerge in the area could be resolved through political means and international law. >> the question of whether the arctic will become an area of

international cooperation or conflict will be discussed at a major conference in the russian capital next week. >> this is "bbc world news." headlines this hour -- pope benedict has called on britain to respect its christian roots on the first ever papal state visit to the country. the human cost of the u.s. financial downturn has poverty's levels rise to their highest levels in nearly 60 years -- as poverty levels rise to their highest levels in nearly 60 years. afghanistan striking a blow for women's rights with a record number of female candidates taking part in this saturday's parliamentary elections. more than 400 women serving for a least 64 of the seats reserved for women. in taliban times, women were banned from going to school and work. >> this is an unconventional

afghan woman by any standards. she is campaigning for parliament. the last time she ran for her country was at the beijing olympics. sprinter. in this male-dominated society, she has been among almost 406 women standing for the 29 seats for women. spite experience, she is confident of success -- despite her lack of experience. >> if this election as transparent and fair, and sure the people who wanted me to stand will vote for me. i'm sure i can get plenty of votes. >> there is hardly an inch of the city where you cannot see her posters. she might not have won any medals -- she came last -- but it did get her notice at least by some. >> i'm going to vote for this candidate because she is young, and she might help the use of this country. >> i do not know who is this

lady who just passed by. it is good to vote for someone who you know. how can i say something about her while i do not know her? >> back at the campaign hadhq, they are readying more posters -- back at campaign hq. some have received death threats from the television. >> yes, i have been threatened. every night, i put my posters, but the next morning, i find they are gone. i am focusing on campaigning in the city center but cannot travel to the district. >> despite the threat, she says she will not be deterred from campaigning. females mp's are not guaranteed women's rights. the last loss supported the law which means that women cannot demand rights from their husbands, and it is the minister determine whether their wives or daughters will gain the right to

work. >> the rights to work and be educated were denied women of the taliban. this business trades local women to be drillers. we spoke to its founder. >> we will not pass a man or a woman who is well-educated, who understands the needs of the people. their sex is not very important. but if more women have power in parliament, then it will be good. >> afghanistan's young democracy has brought greater freedom for these women. the challenge for the next parliament will be ensuring that those hard-one rights are not lost. >> the european union has agreed to grant pakistan trade concessions to help the country deal with the impact of the recent devastating floods. the water has receded, but more than 10 million people remain hundred. all this week, we have been

traveling the length of the indus to assess the damage. reports from an 8-distribution center in northern punjab. >> this is an area where over 2.5 million people out of the population of 3.5 million are estimated to have been affected. there is a huge crush of people here. we are just trying to get through it. the reason they are year is because food rations are about to be distributed, and the man they have come to see -- a lot of them are surrounding this man, the government official in charge of this area administratively. if i could just ask you -- just explain -- there are all these people waiting around you. they all want some of the food aid you are about to distribute. how do you decide who gets the aid and who does not? >> these are all affected people. even this place was under water at one time.

they have an identity card. on that id card, their places mentioned. what they do on that basis, we look into that. this man, as permanent residents is here, and i agree, he is not a resident. bowman i'm just pointing out an example. this place has been under water. people could look and give them the aid. >> you have to be aware, of course, of the criticism there has been of the pakistani government. they said that the aid distribution was inadequate, the response was inadequate, and there were a lot of accusations that government officials are giving aid to their own supporters and not to people

more widely. what is your response to those accusations? >> i 100% deny them. when in a family two people are killed, the parents do not look who was brother to me and who was not. same as the case here. almost everyone was affected. how can you think of this person belonging to an x party or y party? we have asked other districts to support us. the distribution is impartial. we locate the localities and send the aid there. that is a normal routine we do. >> thank you very much. as you can see, there is massive need here. we can still see areas submerged by water, but with so many people affected, there are so many people who are going to leave your disappointed, and

there are millions like that right across the country. then yesterday, we reported on the crippling food crisis in the west african state of niger. and as a province -- 4000 died in 2005 due to food shortages. there are fears the situation could be repeated now. we examined why those lessons have not been heard. >> there is a severe food crisis in niger, affecting about 8 million people here. yet, look around the main market, 1,000 kilometers east of the capital, and it is not obvious why. there is clearly plenty of food around. it is just that many cannot afford it. and another puzzling fact -- at the livestock market nearby, cattle are being exported, mostly to trade with neighboring

nigeria. >> i used to come here every week. >> this nigerian businessman just bought a ball for nearly 700 u.s. dollars to take back home and sell for a profit -- just bought a bull. he was very pleased that his prize specimen, even if he was a little nervous of it. >> i cannot say. >> but why are there food exports in the country experiencing widespread hunger? that is a question i put to niger's prime minister. >> the relationship between niger and nigeria is a very old one. there has been cross-border trade for many decades. people in niger with assets must be able to exploit them and make money. >> so, for the government, food exports are simply the result of

market forces. but a bigger challenge is the climate. half of the country's provinces have just suffered the worst floods in nearly a century, washing away vital food crops. >> i've lost all my crops. there is only a small bit of land which is not flooded, but that is not enough to feed my family. >> a simple cement bag -- cement dike could have helped this farmer, but the community did not have the resources to build it. and the fao is also working to help farmers in drought-stricken areas, as i saw for myself. >> these seeds are naturally strengthened. we have selected the best seats, the ones that will live through the drought and will leave a high yield.

you can see how small that is. this is the naturally improved seed. you can see the difference. a very big difference in size. >> the new transitional government is anxious to support its project. >> we found a body through the office of food security, whose mission is to develop long-term policies. we must move from an emergency precinct to one where we can plan for the future. >> these women farmers say the drought-resistant supersedes have transformed their lives and that they need never go hungry again. so the cycle of poverty could be broken if countries like niger learn the lessons from the past. >> that is about it from us. much more on the bbc website,

bbc.com/news. lots of analysis on that. >> funding was made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, and union bank. and siemens. >> somewhere in america, there's a doctor who can peer into the future. there's a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past. and because the whole hospital is working together, there's a family who can breathe easy right now. somewhere in america we've already answered some of the nation's toughest health-care questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens.

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